It has been known for many years that rubber can be cured (that is, vulcanized) by irradiation with electrons (Newton U.S. Pat. No. 1,906,402), and complete tires have been experimentally vulcanized by prolonged exposure to gamma radiation.
Much later, the expired Mallon U.S. Pat. No. 2,933,441 described vulcanization of a completely assembled tire in a mold, with the tread containing less sulfur than usual so that the tread was only partially cured. After removal of the tire from the mold, the cure of the tread was to be completed by irradiation. No practical use of this procedure is known to have occurred.
In addition, many reports have appeared in technical journals describing laboratory investigations of the effects of radiation on various kinds of elastomers.